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Down
lose to late Antrim Goal - 24/02/03
Division
2A NHL at Portaferry - Sunday 23rd Feb 2003
Down 1-13 Antrim 2-14 
 Two
Late goals from substitute Sean Delargy and Brian McFall
helped Antrim to victory over Down in this Division 2A clash
at Portaferry.
In a game which saw Antrim’s Aidan Delargy
and Down’s Liam Clarke both sent off, the visitors’ success
was ultimately down to the left wing partnership of Liam
Watson and McFall who contributed 1-7 between them. The
crucial difference between the two sides was concentration.
Antrim showed a sharper and physical edge,
with an extra yard of pace in key areas. The first half
was evenly contested, but late points from Watson and McFall
gave Antrim a 0-10 to 1-4 lead at the break. Both sides
got stuck into one another from the throw in. Neither side
was prepared to allow the opposition the time they wanted
to make pretty patterns.
Antrim were constantly hustled and bustled
into making elementary mistakes, despite having the advantage
of a stiff first half breeze at their backs in the first
half. Seven first half wides from Antrim underlined just
how much they were rattled by the Down commitment.
On two occasions the game's latent aggression
flared over into outright ugly confrontation. It led to
a player apiece from either side being the recipient of
straight red cards. The first to get his sideline marching
orders was Antrim's Aidan Delargy. The full forward lashed
out with his stick in an off the ball against Down full
back and captain Stephen Murray leaving referee Aidan McSweeney
no option but to flash the red card. That dismissal came
on the quarter hour. The second followed on 23 minutes and
this time it was Down's impressive corner back Liam Clarke
who took the early walk after being drawn into a sucker
row with a theatrical Connor McCambridge.
The closing minutes of the half saw both
teams chalk up textbook points, the best however being a
massive spiralling contribution from 70 yards by Down's
Coulter Jnr. as the team's went in at the break with Antrim
leading 0-10 to 1-4.
The second half did not live up to the
first period either in terms of passion or excitement. There
was a flatness and a real lack of sustained drive from both
teams. The respective managers made a number of personnel
and positional switches. From a Down perspective the withdrawal
of the influential Gerard McGrattan into a deeper role in
the half forward line in a swap with Gareth Johnston was
a move that perhaps should have been considered earlier.
Unfortunately Johnston had to be substituted
12 minutes from time because of a leg injury. For long periods
of the second half Down were chasing a two point cushion
that Antrim had in reserve. But with Braniff going into
radar accurate mode in the context of converting frees and
with the dynamic Martin Coulter Jnr a constant threat along
the right hand corner, Down stroked over five unanswered
points to edge into a singe score lead with just three minutes
left.
Down were still celebrating Braniff's brilliant
lead point when Antrim hit them with a sucker punch goal.
It saw danger man Watson delay unloading a sideways pass
to the supporting Sean Delargy to perfection, the finish
from the substitute giving Graham Clarke no chance.
Down reduced the gap to a point before
Delargy and McFall scored late goals to seal Antrim’s win.
Antrim - D Quinn, M Kettle, M McCambridge,
O Scullion, J Campbell, G Bell, C Herron, K McKeegan 0-2,
J Connolly, M Scullion, R McNaughton 0-3, L Watson 0-3,
C McCambridge 0-2, A Delargy, B McFall 1-4.
Sub: S Delargy 1-0 for M Scullion
Down - Graham Clarke, L Clarke,
S Murray, E Dorrian, Gabriel Clarke, G Savage, S Wilson,
B Milligan, G Adair, G Johnston 0-1, P Braniff 0-6, E Trainor,
M Coulter 0-5, G McGrattan 0-1, S Clarke 1-0.
Subs: P Coulter for E Trainor, T Coulter for G Savage
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